New Delhi, January 08: Lipstick is the most used cosmetics all over the world. It enjoyed its global share $5760 million in 2016 and expected to reach $8670 million in 2021. To provide a safe, non-toxic and eco-friendly substitute to synthetic colours, the Scientists of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) have extracted natural colours and dyes from the natural occurring vegetables and plants sources.

The main concern in natural colours is stability. To overcome this issue natural colours were stabilized by natural methods and used for the preparation of beauty-enhancing and health-protecting cosmetic composition i.e. Herbal Lipstick. It is prepared in different shades like cherry red, pink, purple and orange by use of natural colours derived from vegetable and plants sources and blended with different essential oils in cosmetically suitable base materials.

These herbal lipsticks have the potential to beautify the texture and shade of lips and to provide health-promoting and protective effects.

According to Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Director, CSIR-IHBT, “The developed technology provides a process for the preparation of herbal lipstick and has great market potential with additional health-promoting effects”.

Cosmetics are used by different classes of people worldwide for beautification since ancient times. However, during the last few decades, there has been a tremendous increase in the use of cosmetics. The daily use of cosmetics may lead to localized skin problems and the harmful effects are caused by skin or oral absorption of some chemical substances. The toxic elements are related to mineral pigments which are used as colouring agents.

Numerous cosmetics used daily are applied in very sensitive areas like lips where the absorption of toxic material is very high. Lipstick is the common cosmetic item worn by women in their day-to-day life. It is a product holding primary ingredients like waxes, pigments and oils that imparts shading, texture and softness to the lips. Fragrances and preservatives are additionally included, to prevent lipstick from becoming rancid.

“Nowadays, natural colours and dyes become important commodities in today’s global forethought because of the hazardous effects of synthetic dyes to humans, animals as well as to the environment. These lipsticks may provide a solution to all these problems” said Dr Kumar.

Synthetic colours and dyes used in lipstick might be responsible for various allergies, skin irritation, skin discoloration, dermatitis, neurotoxicity and cancers. However, due to increased awareness in the consumers, the concern towards the quality of products has been amplified. (India Science Wire)

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